I was vaguely aware, browsing bookstores and libraries, that there was an odd group of murder mysteries with cats on the cover illustration (and cat puns in the title of course), but for many years was not entirely sure that this wasn’t just one prolific author writing one ongoing series to a niche but dedicated readership of cat detective fans. Despite being a fan of anthropomorphic animals in stories, and generally liking detective fiction, they just seemed a little bit too specific for even me. The only example of one of these novels I’ve ever read featured foxes rather than cats, and it was unfortunately terrible enough that it killed what little spark of enthusiasm for the genre I had. My lack of interest in the sub-genre seems to be mirrored by the furry fandom at large (we tend to like our cat detectives a bit more bipedal, among other traits).
Recently, this little genre has slipped off the written page and onto the big screen. The Sheep Detectives adapts one of these novels, Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann, which the observant reader may have already deduced features sheep detectives rather than cats. Directed by Kyle Balda, this movie tells the story of George Hardy, an Irish shepherd played by Hugh Jackman, who enjoys reading detective stories out loud to his flock, never believing for a second they are actually paying attention to the stories and learning sleuthing skills second hand from these readings. When George suddenly dies one night, the sheep begin to suspect foul play, and decide to solve the crime themselves.
Original post written by 2cross2affliction
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